Travel Statistics

All stats are current as of February 6, 2012, the day I returned to the United States.

Countries visited: 16
USA
Panama
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
Chile
Argentina
Paraguay
Brazil
Uruguay
New Zealand
Australia
China (the Hong Kong airport – they stole my sunscreen, it counts)
UK
France

Cities visited: 63

Days on the road: 214 (6 months and 30 days)

Distance travelled: 31,378 miles

Hours of land travel: 426.5

Hours of sea travel (does not include time while anchored): 152.5

Hours of air travel: 97

Hours of travel (total): 676 hours (28 days and four hours)

(All travel time/distance includes long-distance travel only, not day-to-day transit within cities. Distance is as the crow flies, so the total is probably higher.)

Average speed: 46 miles per hour

Maximum altitude: 16,109 feet (on land in Bolivia), with honourable mention to 14,999 feet (the instant after I jumped out of the skydiving plane)

Minimum altitude: -150 feet (in Waitomo Caves)

Number of fruits tried: 24

Number of illnesses: 4

Number of bug infestations: 1

Number of attempted robberies: 1*

*I didn’t write about it at the time, because I did not want to alarm certain readers who know who they are, but I almost got pickpocketed on the Buenos Aires subway. They tried the common scam of throwing liquid on you, and then “helping” to clean you up, removing your valuables in the process while you are distracted. I clued in just in time, and they magically disappeared with no harm done. These guys were really good, though.

Number of successful robberies: 0

Words written: 115,130

Photos taken: 3,558

Word to picture ratio: 32.36 (so luckily for you, a picture is worth only 32.36 words in Jessicaland – imagine how much more I could ramble on!)

Cool places I did karate:

On a desert island beach at night
On the Equator
In an Amazon hut infested with tarantulas
In an Inca ruin
On the Salar de Uyuni
On a ship while sailing past glaciers
In a river in a cave, as a desperate attempt to keep warm

New friends made (according to Facebook): 38